22
FIFA
09
EA’s Ultimate Team mode is the most popular
- and polarising – mode in gaming, and this
is the title that launched it. Rather than being
included in the box, it was a £7.99 download - and the first step towards building a dream
team was creating yourself, as club captain.
BEST BIT The Collection – a virtual Panini-
style sticker book in which you got rewards
for finishing individual teams and leagues.
21
MARIO STRIKERS
CHARGED FOOTBALL
In Nintendo Wii’s first online game, power-
ups (Bananas! Red shells!) were redistributed
over pitches on lava pits and icy wastelands.
The ensuing action – using a metallic ball –
was as jovially larger-than-life as it sounds.BEST BIT The tough-yet-fun Against All Odds
challenge, whch pit Bowser Jr against his evil
dad without the use of power-ups.20
WORLD
CUP 98
EA were on fire in PS1’s early years. FIFA 98:
Road To World Cup gave us every single team
who’d tried to qualify (172 in total), then the
tournament’s official game provided all the
correct fixtures in the correct French stadia –
and 15 classic ties, including the 1966 final.BEST BIT Being able to trigger an intentional
foul with one tap of L1 – especially when the
referee didn’t spot it.19
ULTIMATE SOCCER
MAnAGER
Initially released as a demo in which you only
controlled Brighton, USM blended traditional
managerial elements with nefarious options
like offering bungs and rigging matches. You
could end up being sacked if the FA got wind.BEST BIT Capturing the feel of ’90s football
by having tables in teletext, and your fixture
list attached to a clipboard.18
EMLYn HUGHES
I n TERnATIOnAL
SOCCER
Most of the 1980s efforts on this list are
management sims. This one smashed
the mould, bringing momentum-based
movement and five-directional passing
and shooting to joystick-focused football.
It remained in the charts for three years,
and was later named the 44th best game
ever on the Commodore 64.BEST BIT The novelty of playing a full season,
managing injuries along the way.17
n EW STAR
SOCCER
Create-a-player sim that started on Windows
in 2003, but is best known on mobile. Control
key moments by using your finger to aim the
ball, with RPG elements keeping you hooked- such as new boots to boost power.
BEST BIT Developer Simon Read picking up
a BAFTA in 2013, after the game amassed
2.1 million downloads in a year.THE WII’S FIRST OnLInE
GAME FEATURED LAVA
PITS, ICY WASTELAnDS
AnD A METALLIC BALL
FOOTBALL
VIDEO GAMES